Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Lawyer Austin: Deadlines That Run the Case

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer Austin filers hire is mostly managing a calendar. The Bankruptcy Code sets a deadline for nearly every step, and most of them run from the day the petition hits the clerk’s office. Miss one and a routine case can dismiss itself. Meet them all and the whole thing is over in about four months. Austin cases go to the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, at the Homer Thornberry Federal Judicial Building on San Jacinto Boulevard. That division covers Travis, Williamson, Hays, and fourteen other counties. In the twelve months ending June 30, 2026, the Western District logged 9,121 bankruptcy filings, and 6,227 of them were Chapter 7. What follows is the case as a timeline, from the counseling certificate to the discharge order, with the deadline attached to each stage.

Before the Petition: What a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Lawyer in Austin Sets Up

Three things have to happen before anything is filed. First, 11 U.S.C. § 109(h) requires a credit counseling briefing from an agency on the U.S. Trustee’s approved list. The briefing must fall within the 180 days before filing, and the certificate goes in with the petition. The Western District’s Local Rule 1007-1 treats a missing certificate seriously. The clerk sends the case straight to the judge, who may dismiss it without a hearing.

Second, Section 528 requires the lawyer to give the client a written contract within five business days of first providing help. That contract must arrive before the petition goes on file. Third, the filing fee is $338, made up of a $245 statutory fee, a $78 administrative fee, and a $15 trustee surcharge. A filer with income under 150 percent of the poverty line can ask the court to waive it. Everyone else may pay in up to four installments within 120 days.

Filing Day: The Stay and the Estate

The petition itself is the order for relief. Two things happen the moment the clerk dockets it. Section 362(a) imposes the automatic stay, which halts collection calls, lawsuits, garnishments, and foreclosure sales without any court order. Section 541 creates the bankruptcy estate, which takes in every legal or equitable interest the filer holds at that instant. That includes the tax refund not yet received and the paycheck earned but not yet deposited. It also reaches property inherited within 180 days after filing. What the filer keeps depends on exemptions, discussed below. The stay has limits for repeat filers. Under Section 362(c)(3), a filer whose prior case was dismissed within the past year gets a stay that expires after 30 days unless extended. Two dismissals in a year means no stay at all.

Days 1 Through 45: The Schedules a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Lawyer in Austin Files

Section 521 lists the paperwork. The filer owes schedules of assets and debts, a budget, a statement of financial affairs, and pay stubs from the 60 days before filing. The Western District adds its own form, a Declaration of Evidence of Payments covering those 60 days. Section 521(i) sets the hard deadline. If the required documents do not reach the court within 45 days, the case dismisses automatically on day 46. The statement of intention is due within 30 days or by the creditors’ meeting, whichever is first. It tells each secured lender whether the filer will surrender the collateral, redeem it, or reaffirm the loan. The most recent tax return goes to the trustee at least seven days before that meeting. The lawyer’s own fee disclosure under Section 329 is due within 14 days.

Days 21 Through 40: The Meeting a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Lawyer in Austin Attends With You

Bankruptcy Rule 2003 requires the meeting of creditors between 21 and 40 days after filing. Since June 2024, the U.S. Trustee for Region 7 has held Austin meetings by Zoom. A panel trustee runs it, and the Austin Division currently draws from three. The trustee’s job under Section 704 is to find and sell nonexempt property, investigate the filer’s finances, and object to a discharge if the facts warrant. Most meetings last ten minutes. The trustee verifies identity, confirms the schedules are accurate, and asks about recent transfers, lawsuits, and anticipated inheritances. Creditors may appear but rarely do. Where everything is exempt, the trustee files a report of no distribution and the estate closes without a sale. That is the outcome in most Austin consumer cases.

Texas or Federal: The Exemption Choice

Texas never enacted the opt-out that Section 522(b)(2) permits, so an Austin filer may choose either exemption list. The Texas list protects a homestead of up to 10 acres inside a city with no dollar cap, and personal property up to $100,000 for a family or $50,000 for a single adult under Property Code Section 42.001. Retirement accounts are exempt without limit. The federal list is smaller. It protects $31,575 of home equity and offers a wildcard for filers with little or no equity. Section 522(p) adds one federal cap that applies even to a Texas homestead. Equity acquired in the 1,215 days before filing is limited to $214,000. A downtown condo bought in 2024 with a large down payment can run into that cap. A house owned since 2018 will not.

Days 41 Through 100: Objections, Reaffirmations, and the Second Course

Rule 4004 gives creditors and the trustee 60 days after the first meeting date to object to the discharge. The U.S. Trustee’s Austin office has 10 days after the meeting to file a statement on whether the case is presumed abusive under the means test. A reaffirmation agreement must carry the filer’s signature before the court enters the discharge. Under Section 524(c), the filer may rescind one at any time before discharge, or within 60 days after filing it, whichever is later. One more course stands between the filer and the order. Section 727(a)(11) withholds the discharge until the filer completes a financial management course and files the certificate. Once the 60-day window closes with no objection, Rule 4004(c) directs the court to grant the discharge promptly.

After the Order: What the Discharge Does Not Reach

The discharge under Section 727(b) covers debts that existed on the filing date. Credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, and deficiency balances go. Section 523(a) lists the survivors. Domestic support, most recent taxes, student loans absent undue hardship, and fines payable to the government all pass through. So does a luxury purchase over $900 within 90 days of filing, or a cash advance over $1,250 within 70 days, unless the filer rebuts the presumption. Two clocks start on discharge. Section 727(a)(8) blocks another Chapter 7 discharge for eight years. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c, the case may stay on a credit report for ten. Arizona filers face the same federal rules, as our guide to Chapter 7 versus Chapter 13 explains from that state’s exemption side.

The Bottom Line

Chapter 7 in Austin is a four-month sequence of deadlines, and most of them run on their own once the petition goes on file. The counseling certificate has to exist before day zero. Schedules have to be complete by day 45. And the tax return has to reach the trustee a week before a Zoom meeting that lasts ten minutes. What the statute does not say is that the timeline forgives nothing. A case dismissed for missing paperwork on day 46 counts as a prior dismissal, and the next filing gets a weaker stay. The filer makes the exemption choice once and cannot revisit it after the trustee objects. The discharge is broad, but the list of what survives is longer than most filers expect. Filers who finish in four months are the ones who treated the calendar as the case.

Keep reading: Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Arizona: Which One Fits Your Situation · Bankruptcy Credit Counseling Requirement: The Two Courses Arizona Filers Must Complete

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This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Bankruptcy deadlines, exemptions, and outcomes depend on individual finances, and the dollar figures cited here adjust periodically. Anyone considering Chapter 7 should consult a licensed Texas bankruptcy attorney.

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